Pokemon: Rise of The Shield
by nWoreviewer
Summary: After returning home from Kalos with Serena, things couldn't be better for Ash Ketchum, until he is betrayed be his friends. Because of this, a new group will unite and will take the pokemon world by storm and for Ash, the goal is simple: Prove Them Wrong! AmourShipping Some IkariShipping and other shippings mentioned. Rated M for Language. No Lemons.
1. Breaking Denseness

Pokemon: Rise of The Shield

Chapter 1: Breaking Denseness

After a long flight from the Kalos region, Ash Ketchum was back in the Kanto Region and was on his back home to Pallet Town. Alongside him were his number 1 partner Pikachu as well as Serena, who had recently become his girlfriend. How did that happen you ask? Well...

_Flashback(1 week ago)_

_Ash was feeling really down about losing the Kalos League, what made it hurt more was that he made to the Finals. He felt like he was finally going to win, but alas, fate had different plans for him that day and it really depressed Ash. Serena had noticed Ash's behavior and knew she needed to do something to change it, but there was only one thing she could think of to get him out of that state: confess her feelings for him. She knew she had to do this; she had waited long enough to tell him, it was either now or never and she went with now. She went to Ash's room and knocked on the door._

_"Ash, it's Serena, can I come in?"_

_There was a long moment before Serena got a response in which Ash opened the door and let her come in. Serena noticed that Ash was still in that depressed state and that Pikachu was saddened to see his best friend in such a state. He had tried to get him out of it, but couldn't. _

_Ash went back to his bed and lied down, almost as if he forgot Serena was here. That's when she spoke._

_"Ash, please stop acting this way. You know that Clemont, Bonnie, Pikachu and me hate seeing you like this. Besides, I'm sure you'll win a pokemon league soon."_

_Ash had gone from depressed to annoyed by Serena's sentence and decided to tell her about a previous Pokemon League match that still haunts him to this day._

_Ash sat up on the bed and looker Serena dead in the eye. "Really Serena? You say that as if it was the 1st pokemon league i've ever participated in. It wasn't, it was my 6th and each one had ended badly for me!"_

_Serena eyes widened when Ash starting yelling, but he didn't stop after that._

_"Let me tell you about my very 1st pokemon league. I made it to the top 16, but I could've made it further. I was battling a newly made friend named Ritchie. He took out my Squirtle and Pikachu. I was down to my last pokemon and I chose my Charizard. At the time, he wasn't listening to me. Hell, the only reason it managed to beat his 2nd pokemon was because he provoked him. Then Ritchie sent out his last pokemon, which was a Pikachu. Just when Pikachu was about to attack, Charizard layed down in the middle of the field as if it were taking a nap! I tried to get to attack, but he wouldn't listen. The ref ruled charizard unable to battle and gave the match to Ritchie. That Serena, was the most embarrising day of my life!"_

_Serena was shocked; she had no idea that Ash went through such a humiliating defeat. In her eyes, he was always this great trainer, but when she heard that story, she really had no clue what to say to him._

_"Ash, I..." Serena said before Ash lifted up his hand, signaling that he wasn't done talking._

_"Everytime I get knocked out of a league, I always think back to that one match, where if I was a better trainer, I could've won. I always hide behind a smile after a loss and say I'll be alright, but i'm not." Ash said as tears started to form in his eyes. "I'm sick and tired of losing league after league and coming so close to winning them. It's made me think that I'm just an embaressment to Pallet Town and that I should just give up on my dream of being a pokemon master."_

_Both Serena and Pikachu were both stunned by what he just said. Pikachu was about to zap his trainer, but Serena beat him to the punch and was about to slap Ash, hoping to get to come back to his senses when he said one more sentence._

_"I'm sick of being an embaressment to you as well, Serena." Ash said with tears now flowing down his face._

_Serena stop dead in her tracks as if she was ran right smack into a brick wall. She wasn't sure if Ash actually said that or if her mind was playing tricks on her, so she made sure she heard correctly. "What did you say, Ash?" she said, unsurely._

_Ash stood up and looked right into her ocean blue eyes. "You heard correct, Serena." Ash said with Serena in shock that Ash said that, but before she could question him further, Ash went on._

_"Actually, since I just told you all that, there's something else I want to tell you." Serena's heart started to beat rapidly; did Ash feel the same that she did?_

_"You see, ever since I invited you to travel with me, i've started feeling this weird feeling that i've never felt before. I wasn't sure what this feeling was and why it was towards you, I mean, i've traveled with you girls before and never felt like this. But the more time we traveled, the more and more that feeling grew. After a chat with my mom recently, I finally realized what that feeling is and I don't know how you're going to react to it, but i'm going to tell you anyway because you deserve to know." Ash then took a deep breath and said "Serena, I..I...I love you."_

_Serena's gasped as her hand went over her mouth as tears formed in her eyes; she couldn't believe that A) Ash had been the one to confess to her and not the other way around and B) The trainer she had been crushing from the moment she met him at Prof. Oak's summer camp all those years ago just confessd to her. Pikachu looked at this with disbelief; it looked like a scene some writer would write for a crappy FanFiction story, but...nah, that would never happen._

_After a long minute of silence, Ash broke the silence. "If you don't feel the same, then that's alright, but just know that no matter what, I will always love y-" that was all Ash got out as Serena planted her lips onto his. She was done waiting and wanted to show Ash just how much she loved him back. Ash eyes widened when Serena started kissing him, but after a moment, he closed his eyes and returned the kiss with as much passion as Serena. Both were enjoying their first kiss together and didn't want it to end, but the need for air forced them to seperate._

_Serena then spoke. "Ash, I don't care if you finish 1st, 2nd or dead last in any pokemon league you've ever competed in. You are the kindest, sweetest and the most wonderful person I have ever met. I love you Ash, always have, always will and nothing will ever change that." she said sweetly._

_Hearing those words, Ash felt a great weight lifted off his shoulders, knowing that no matter if he never won a pokemon league in his life, if he never became champion of a region, and if he never became a pokemon master, he would always have her in his life, and for the 1st time since he lost the Kalos League, he smiled._

_"Thank you Serena" he said. "So, will you be my girlfriend?"_

_"Of course I will Ash!" she said and after she said that, they shared another kiss together and in Ash's mind, winning or losing a pokemon league was the farthest thing from his thoughts as he was just happy to finally be with the girl he loved._

_End Flashback_

After that moment, Serena wanted to go with Ash wherever he wanted to go to next, and after getting Serena's mom's approval and permission as well as saying goodbye to Clemont and Bonnie, the two made their way to Pallet Town. The plan was to relax in Pallet for a few days while the two thought about what region to travel next. Ash hadn't heard anything about a new region yet, so maybe he could re-travel one of the other regions with Serena. Another thing he wanted to do was to start training Serena in pokemon battles; he saw a lot of potential in Serena and thought that maybe if he trained her, it would help her in finding a path. Besides, he had already trained both May and Dawn(more so May) in battles and look at how their careers as Co-Ordinatiors are going. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw the view of Pallet.

"Well, here we are Serena, Pallet Town." Ash said

"Oh wow, it's been so long since i've been here. You know what, it closely resembles Vaniville Town." Serena said as she was remembering that camp again and also passing by Pallet on the way to the camp.

Ash, almost like he was reading her mind said "Don't worry, you'll see the old camp grounds a little bit later. But for now, let's go to my house and relax for a bit."

"OK, Ash" Serena said as the two made their way to his house with Ash resisting the urge to run there like he normally would and instead opted to just walking a leisurly pace while holding hands with Serena.

After a few minutes, the two had arrived at Ash's house and went to the door and knocked it, waiting for a response. While waiting, Ash was preparing himself for the inevitable embarrassment from his mom. He didn't get a lot of time as the door open as Delia saw her son and went right to hug him.

"Oh Ash, you're back!" she cried happily while tighting the grip she had on her son. "I watched the conference, you were just wonderful."

Ash meanwhile was having trouble breathing. "Mom...Can't...Breath..." he got out as Delia released her hold on him. That's when Delia noticed Serena. "And who might this young lady be, Ash?"

Ash knew that question would be asked and he braced himself because he was sure he was going to die of embarrassment. "Mom, this is Serena, one of the people I traveled with around Kalos... and she's also my girlfriend." Ash said.

Delia lit up and once again hugged Ash. "OOOOHHHH! My Ashy has finally got himself a girlfriend! I thought I never live to see this day!"

Ash had surprisingly not died from embarrassment like he thought he would and screamed "MOOOOOOOOM! Stop embarrassing me! Besides, you already knew about Serena. Remember when I last called you?"

"I know Ash, I just couldn't contain myself. It's a pleasure to meet you Serena."

"Pleasure to meet you as well Mrs. Ketchum."

"Oh please sweetie, just call me Delia." she said as the two ladies shared a quick hug.

"So Ash, do you already have plans as to where you're going next?" Delia asked her son.

Ash replied "Not yet mom. At the moment, Serena and I are going to relax here for a few days while we decide what to do." as the three had walked into the house.

"Well, I guess I better start preparing for dinner since I assume that Serena will be staying with us for a while. You can have the guest room upstairs, sweetie. Ash will show you where it is." Delia said as she went into the kitchen to do what she does best: cook one hell of a meal for Ash.

Meanwhile, after showing Serena the guest room and dropping off her stuff, the two went into Ash's room as he went to place his Kalos badges with the others.

Serena was impressed with how many badges Ash had won over the years. "Wow Ash, just how many gym badges do you have?" she asked.

Ash said "I have the ones from the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and now Kalos regions. I also have 4 gym badges from the Orange Islands. So in total, 52. Speaking of the Orange Islands, here's the trophy I recieved when I won the Orange League."

Serena was looking at the trophy, but was also confused by Ash's words. "Ash, I thought you said you've never won a pokemon league before."

"Well, the Orange League isn't considered an official Pokemon League, so I haven't, much to my irritation."

Serena, noticing Ash getting upset at her mentioning Pokemon Leagues quickly changed the subject. "Hey what's that?" she said as she pointed towards a plaque.

"Oh that's the plaque I received for conquering the Kanto Battle Frontier."

"Battle Frontier?" Serena questioned

"It's basically like gym battles, but much more difficult. I was actually the 1st person to conquer the Frontier. The owner of the frontier, a man named Scott, offered me a spot to become what they are called Frontier Brains, but I declined because I still had plenty of traveling to do. But still, I don't regret doing it, otherwise I wouldn't have many of my friends or wouldn't have reunited with you." Ash said with saying that last part as sweetly as he could.

Having heard that, Serena went to him and the two shared a short, but passionate kiss.

When the two seperated, Serena said "I love you, Ash."

"I love you too, Serena. Now, how about we go over to Prof. Oak's and you can see what other pokemon I got?"

"Sounds great, Ash." Serena said as the two went downstairs, told Delia where they were going and started walking to Prof. Oak's lab minus Pikachu as he decided to stay and relax back at the house.

The two had arrived at the lab and Ash introduced Serena to the Proffesor and Tracey. Right after that, Ash told Serena that he wanted to see some of his pokemon, so he went outside to the ranch. Serena was both annoyed and mostly confused as to why Ash didn't invite her as well; she wanted to see what other pokemon Ash had caught throughtout his journey. She would soon get her answer as Ash called for her from outside

"Hey Serena, could you come out here please?"

Serena did so and noticed Ash standing next to, for lack of better words, a large reptile.

"Hey, Serena. Come on over. Say hello to one of the pokemon I caught in Hoenn: Sceptile."

'Tile' he said as if he was saying hello.

Serena was a little scared of Sceptile, but quickly pushed that fear to the side. "Hi Sceptile, it's nice to meet you. Now then..." she said as she look right at Ash while placing her hands on her hips. "I know you wanted to see your pokemon, but why on earth didn't you invite me, Ash Ketchum?!"

Ash looked rather calm, despite Serena yelling at him. "Serena, it because I wanted to talk to Sceptile for a few minutes and now, I want to show you something." he said as he took Serena's hand. "Can you lead the way, Sceptile?"

'Tile' he said this time saying yes.

The three had walked for a few minutes when they went into a forest part of the ranch. Serena was still confused as to what Ash wanted to show her, though. Her thoughts were interrupted when they just stopped dead in their tracks.

Ash then spoke. "Thanks for the help Sceptile".

'Tile Sceptile'

Ash spoke once more. "Now Serena, do you recognize where we are?" he asked

Serena, still confused as too why they were here responded "No why are we.." was all she got out until she started looking around and then in one moment everything clicked and in her mind, she was reliving a very special memory.

She then spoke up. "ASH! You actually found the exact same spot where we met?!" she screamed.

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it was mostly thanks to Sceptile that I was able to find this spot and quickly too, so I didn't have to keep you waiting."

"Oh, thank you so much Sceptile"

'Sceptile'

"And thank you, Ash. This was very thoughtful of you to do." she said as she then gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Ash blushed from the contact, which Serena found really cute.

"Yo-You're welcome. Serena. Now about we relax here for a while?"

"Sounds wonderful, Ash"

The two sat down by a tree while Sceptile wander off back to see Ash's pokemon, since even Ash shouldn't get lost here. The two sat in silence, just enjoying the moment together. There was little to no room between the two as they were sitting as close to each other as they possibly could with their backs against a tree. Serena then broke the silence.

"Ash, i'm so grateful I met you here all those years ago. Grateful that I got to see you again, grateful that I got to travel with you, and grateful that we became boyfriend/girlfriend. You're the best thing to happen to me, Ash. I love you with all my heart." she said.

"I love you too, Serena. I always will and nothing will ever change that." Ash responded as they kissed which turned into a passionate make-out session. For Ash, he had never been happier in his life, not even when he beat Gary in the Silver Conference, when he beat Paul in the Lily of the Valley Conference, when he beat Trip in the Unova League(A/N I forgot what the conference name was), when he won the Orange League and when he conquered the Battle Frontier. Ash could say without a doubt this was one of, if not the, best days of his life. If only he knew what was to come tomorrow, as it would be the worst day in his life.

End of Chapter 1

As you guys can probably guess, next chapter will be the betrayal. Now I'm gonna have a little contest here. There will be 3 people that won't turn on Ash. 1 of them is a former traveling companion(No it's not Clemont or Bonnie, they're still in Kalos and Serena is a given, so she doesn't count either.) and the other 2 are former rivals. Whoever can guess who they are 1st will get a shotout in the next chapter. (Basically, if someone gets one of them right, but not the other two, they get a shoutout, you guys get the idea.) If you don't have an FF account, you don't qualify. Now I gotta work on S.C.R, so make sure you guys leave a review and tell me what you thought of it and until next time, this is nWoreviewer or nWore for short sighing out.


	2. Shield's Beginnings Part 1

Pokemon: Rise of The Shield

Welcome to chapter 2. Here we see the betrayal and learn who won't be betraying Ash. So, before we get started, here are the shout-outs for the contest last chapter:

Heer Mach - Der Azur Ritter (He was the first to get 1 of the Rivals correct)

I'm think people will be surprised on the other two who won't betray Ash. Anyway, let's get to Chapter 2.

Chapter 2: Shield's Beginnings Part 1

It was a beautiful day in Pallet Town as Ash, Pikachu, Serena and Delia were walking to Prof. Oak's lab as he had invited the three for lunch. As they were walking, Ash couldn't help but look up at the sky and notice just how beautiful it was today...but something also felt wrong, it was as if his gut was telling him that something bad was going to happen today, but what exactly, Ash didn't know. Ash's thoughts were interupted when they arrived at the gate to the lab and walked up the steps to knock on the door. After a few moments, Prof. Oak opened the door and greeted them.

"Ah, Ash, Serena, Delia and of course, Pikachu. Good to see you, please come in." he said as he let them inside.

When they were inside, Oak turned his attention to Ash. "Ash, my boy, would you mind coming with me outside? I have something to show you that I think you're going to be surprised to see." Oak said

"Sure Professor, you want to come along Serena?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

"Sure Ash" Serena replied as the two followed Oak to outside to the ranch. While they were walking, Ash noticed Tracey walk by, but he didn't bother saying hi or even look at him. Maybe it was because he had already seen Ash yesterday, but wouldn't he at least smile at him or nod his head as if he was saying 'Hi'? For that matter, why didn't he look at him? He wasn't reading anything or carrying something, he was just walking by, so there was really no reason not to, at the very least, acknowledge that Ash was there. Once again, that gut feeling that Ash had gotten only a few minutes prior was coming back, but before Ash could begin questioning what the feeling was, the three, along with Pikachu on Ash's right shoulder where he usually was, had already made it outside to the ranch.

All of a sudden, Prof. Oak just yelled out "Ash is here, come say hi to him!" Ash wasn't sure what was going on, then he looked up and saw a familar figure in the air coming at them. The figure came down and in front of Ash, Pikachu, Serena and Oak was a majestic bird; a bird that Ash and Pikachu were very familar with

"Pidegot?!" Ash asked, very surprised

'Pid' Pidegot cherped

Pidegot went to Ash and nuzzled him, which made Ash laugh as he was being tickled by her feathers. Ash stroked her neck and had a big smile on his face; happy to see the second pokemon he caught.

"Ash, I have some good news. As you know, you're Pidegot has been protecting the Pidgeys and Pidgeottos in the forest of Route 1, but recently i've learned that many of the Pidgeotto's have evolved into Pidgeot and now that there's no need for your Pidgeot to protect them, I think she would like to join you on your next journey." Oak said

Ash was surprised with that news; he never though Pidgeot would be able to join him on his journey again. "Is that true, Pidgeot?" Ash asked

'Pid' she cherped

"That's awesome! Welcome back Pidegot!" Ash exclaimed

Oak handed Ash Pidegot's pokeball, which Ash gave Oak when Pidgeot went to protect the flock. For now, Ash decided to keep Pidgeot out since he wasn't planning on leaving home yet.

A hour later, Ash, Pikachu, Serena, Delia and Oak were outside enjoying lunch with all of Ash's pokemon as well as Serena's Fennekin enjoying Oak's pokemon food. Ash had now made up his mind about training Serena, if she was up for it, and had also decided to retravel Kanto, but now he needed to ask Serena about it as he didn't want to force to do something she didn't want to.

"Hey Serena, there's something I want to ask you." Ash said

"What is it Ash?" Serena asked

"Well, I would like to train you in the art of pokemon battles. Now I know when we traveled Kalos, you said you weren't really interested in battling, but I believe that there's a lot of potential in you as a battler, Serena. I won't force you to do it, but it's something that I think would be really good for the future." Ash said

Serena thought about it; she didn't really have any goal. The only reason she went on a journey in the first place was to meet up with Ash and travel with him. Sure, she loved Fennekin to death, but she didn't have any long-term goal in life. There was Poke-Vision, but that was more short-term, and the only long-term goal was Rhyhorn Racing and she didn't want to do that, so she decided to let Ash train her. Sure it'll be hard, but she wanted Ash to be proud of her and being only a damsel in distress wasn't what she constantly wanted to be.

"OK, Ash. I'll try my hand at battling and i'll allow you to train me." Serena said

"Are you sure?" he asked

"Positive!" Serena said confidently

Ash was so happy that Serena agreed; it meant that not only could keep traveling with her, but she would be getting stronger from his training and he was sure she would help out in some way as well.

"I'm so happy you agreed Serena, I know this is only going to make us both stronger in many ways. Now I was thinking since the Kanto Gyms don't offically open for another month, we can stay here and start training. What do you say?"

"Sound great, Ash." she said as they shared a short, but sweet kiss.

"Awww!" Delia said

Both pulled apart with massive blushes on their faces. Ash was about to tell his mom to stop embarrising him in front of Serena when he heard someone laughing.

"HAHA! Oh please, hey cutie, instead of training with that loser, why don't you train with me?" the voice said smuggly

Ash looked at who the voice belonged to and narrowed his eyes. He recognized that dirty blonde hair along with his pale gray eyes. It was his Unova rival Trip. He hadn't seen him since the Vertress Conference in Unova, so what was he doing here now? Hadn't he always called Kanto "The Boonies"? (A/N Does Trip also call the other regions The Boonies? I honestly can't remember)

"Trip? What do you want?" Ash asked

"I want to say something to you that you need to hear, but before I do, perhaps I should invite so other 'familar' faces." Trip said as people started entering the ranch.

Ash couldn't believe his eyes, it was many of his former traveling companions and rivals. Misty, Brock, Tracey, May, Max, Dawn, Iris and Cilan of his former travel buddies and Gary, Morrison, Barry, Conway, Cameron, and Stephan of his rivals. Drew and Kenny were there was well for some reason, but Ash wasn't wondering about that, he was wondering why all of them were here.

"Guys, what are you all doing here?" Ash asked

Trip then said "Do one of you guys want to tell him or should I?" he asked.

That's when Gary stepped foward and spoke up. "I think I speak for everyone when I say that you should give up on your dreams, Ash"

"What?!" Ash, Serena, Delia and Oak said.

Misty then spoke "Face it Ash, you've never won a pokemon league and you never will because you're a weak piece of shit!"

Serena spoke up for Ash "He's not weak. He won the Orange League and The Battle Frontier."

"Oh Please. Nobody could give a damn about the Orange League and many people aren't even aware of the Battle Frontier's existance, so you've done jack shit. Face it, you just suck as a trainer, Ketchum." Brock said

May spoke. "Yeah, and anytime you beat someone, it's through sheer dumb luck."

Max then said "Hell, even I, who has only been a trainer for a year, has already surpassed your pathetic ass of a trainer. I'm better than you could ever be!"

"I agree." said Cilan. "The only reason I travelled with you is to learn about your battle recipies. But all of them are bland and flavorless since you use them over and over again."

Nobody was really sure about what Cilan just said, so Iris broke the silence. "What he said, and even if you do get stronger, you'll never beat any of us, so it's just a complete waste of time."

Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing; now he knew what that gut feeling was referring to earlier. "How can you guys say that? Don't any of you still believe in me?" he asked his now former friends.

Nobody moved and kept glaring at Ash. Trip then spoke "See Ash, they all think you're weak, so just gi-" he got out before a blue blur ran to hug Ash. That blur was Dawn.

"I still believe in you Ash!" Dawn cried out as she hugged him, her head on his shoulders and was crying.

"Dawn, do.." was all he got out before Dawn spoke again.

"Of course I mean it Ash!" she said as if she read his mind. "I always have believed in you and always will. If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't be anywhere as good of a Co-Ordinator as I am. You're the best friend I could ever ask for and I want to be by your side when you do fulfill your dreams Ash." she said with much passion, and Ash could tell she was telling the truth.

"Dee-Dee, you can't be serious?! Ash is nothing but a failure." Kenny screamed

Dawn, having been tired of being called that nickname as well as hearing Kenny calling Ash a failure, went over to Kenny and slapped him so hard that he went backwards, bumped into and landed on Barry.

"Come on Dawn, be realistic, Ash is such a kid. He has no skill, a 5-year old can easily beat Ash and that yellow rat in a battle." Iris said

Dawn was about to slap Iris, but Serena held her hand and she was the one to slap her.

Delia finally spoke up "You all have the nerve to say those things to my son after all he's done for you?! How dare you!"

Drew spit out "We can say what we want about the failure."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Everyone flinched at the roar, which came from Ash. Delia would've repromanded her son for his language, but given the circumstances, she maid the exception. Then Ash spoke. "You all think i'm a failure, well what about the rest of you? What makes the rest of you guys the best in the world?!"

That when Ash finally decided to speak his mind about his 'friends' as he walked up to them to tell it to their faces. "Brock, you're nothing but a fucking pervert. How you have never been arrested for harassing all the Nurse Joys and Officer Jenny we've ever met I have no idea. If fact, I wish you had been arrested, that way I didn't have to watch all your preverted flirting."

"Misty, you're just a selfish bitch. You only followed me because of a bike. You put me down every minute, and complained every second and drove me fucking nuts!"

"Tracey, if i'm weak, then what does that make you? You're one of the weakest trainers i've ever met, and if you hadn't met me, you would've never become Prof. Oak's assistant and would be probably be back on the Orange Islands stalking Cissy." (A/N Watch the episode "Fit to be Tide" Tracey is rather creepy in the episode when he's around Cissy.")

"Gary, you're always been nothing but an overrated douchebag! Also, nobody likes a person who hires their own cheerleaders, it makes people think you're a sad, patethic loser."

"Max, you're nothing but a egotistical ass, who doesn't know jack shit about anything, so stop talking like you do!"

"May, you're a whiny bitch. All you did was complain, and you forced me to lose time for my training to help you and without me, you be some Drew fangirl probably trying to stalk him."

"Speaking of which, Drew, you're just as egotistical ass as Max is, however, you also dress like a gay man. I mean, seriously, what straight guy goes around carrying roses?"

"Iris, if anyone is a little kid, it's you. All you did was call me that and you're what? 17? Also, you followed me just cause I threw a pokeball at you, there was no reason you should've followed me, you bitch."

"Cilan, other than you, nobody understands what the fuck you're saying!"

"Morrison, you're a fat annoying slob and the 2nd most annyoing rival i've ever had only behind him." Ash said as he pointed at Barry.

"Barry, the honor of most annoying rival goes to you, and i'm sure that everyone here will agree with me on that."

"WHAT?! No way, that's not true, right guys?" Barry asked.

Everyone just looked away from Barry as he fell and started crying anime style.

"Conway, how you haven't been arrested for stalking Dawn or anybody else is beyone me. Stephan, nobody gives a flying fuck about how to pronounce your name. Cameron, if I had use some of my more experienced pokemon in our battle, like Charizard, Scpetile and Infernape, you would've gotten your ass kicked. Kenny, you call me a failure, but who was the one that didn't get past the appeals round of the Sinnoh Grand Festival again? You keep thinking you're the best, but all that does is just piss off everyone around you."

"Lastly, you Trip. You're the worst out of all of them and I've wanted to say this to you for a long time. First off, you only beat Pikachu in Nuvema Town because Zekrom took Pikachu's energy. He's not weak, you are! Second, you always insulted me and my home region every time we met. Well, why don't you take on the gyms here yourself. I guarentee you'll get crushed by thr Saffron, Fuschia and Virdian Gyms, if not more of them. Third, like Cameron, if I used some of my older pokemon, I would've crushed you. Lastly, you play this confident guy, but in reality, you're nothing but a annoying brat!"

Ash was then silent for a while as he walked back to his actually friends.

"NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

Prof. Oak step forward. "I conquer. Tracey, you're fired! And all of you are banned from my property! That includes you too Gary. I'll let you pick up your pokemon tomorrow. But for now, get out of my lab!" Oak screamed

"WHAT?! Gramps, how can you ban me? I'm your fucking grandson?! Ash is nothing to you!" Gary screamed.

"Ash may not be related to me, but i've always thought of him as a son. He's the 'Pride of Pallet Town' for a reason. As far as i'm concerned Gary, you are no longer my grandson. Now leave!" Oak said.

All of Ash's pokemon had heard what these traitors said to Ash and lined up behind him and Oak, which terified the traitors. Sure, they were confident they could take them, but they didn't want to cause a scene and have Oak call the police, so they hopped the fence and left, each glad they had Ash out of their life as they could move on and fulfill their own dreams.

After they left and with both the aderaline gone and the shock beginning to hit me, Ash collpased to his knees and started crying. What did he do to them? What on earth could possibly justify them ending years of friendship. Serena rushed to his aide.

"Ash?" she asked quietly. "You know that were hear for you right?"

He nodded, but that didn't stop the tears from falling down his face. He managed to get back to his feet. "I know you guys are here for me, and thank you Dawn for still believing in me. I just don't understand why they turned on me? I mean, what did I ever do to them?'

"You did nothing to them!" Dawn said firmly. "They're just a bunch of idiots. Don't ever take what they said about you Ash. You'll show them just how strong you are when you become a pokemon master. Besides, if you gave up, you'd just prove them right."

Ash slightly smiled as his eyes lit with a fire of passion. "Yeah, you're right, Dawn! They're going to regret the day they betrayed me." He then turned to his mom. "Sorry about the language, mom. I guess I couldn't help myself." Ash apologized.

"It's ok Ash, given the circumstances, i'll let this one slide." Delia said, forgiving his son.

"Ash, are you still planning to-" Oak was about ask if Ash if he was still going to be traveling, but Ash already knew what the question was.

"Yes, Prof. But I don't think it'll be Kanto. I think it'll be one of the other regions. Serena, do you still want to train for battles?" Ash asked her

"Of course Ash. Besides, I want to make sure you don't do something stupid with what just happened" Serena replied.

"I want to go with you as well, Ash." Dawn said. "I want to get strong alongside you and stay by your side when you prove those traitors wrong."

"Of course, Dawn. Oh by the way, Dawn, this is Serena, my girlfriend. Serena, this is Dawn, one of my traveling companions during my Sinnoh journey."

Dawn was shocked when the word 'girlfriend' came out of his mouth. "Girlfriend? What happened to that dense kid that I travelled with?" Dawn asked with a smirk on her face.

Ash answered simply "He grew up. I hope you didn't have any sort of crush on me Daw-" "No I didn't Ash. I've always seen you as not only my best friend, but as the older brother I never had. So don't worry, I won't try to get in the way of your relationship." Dawn said as Ash smiled and went over to Dawn and gave her a friendly hug.

The two girls shook hands while Ash went to get some pokemon. He decided on taking Pikachu, Pidgeot, Charizard, Buizle, Sceptile and Gible, but promised he'd rotate his other pokemon out.

After a few minutes, Ash, Serena and Dawn got ready to leave. However Ash opted for a different means of travel.

"Girls, you two can ride on Pidgeot, i'll ride on Charizard." Ash said

"Huh? Why are we flying Ash?" Dawn asked

"Cause it'll take 3 weeks to get to the nearest port, which is in Vermillion City. Or a few hours by air."

The girls, seeing no other choice got on Pidgeot.

"Proffesor, make sure all my pokemon stay safe from those traitors hands." Ash said with venom in his voice.

"Don't worry Ash, they'll be safe. I promise. Good luck on wherever your journey takes you."

"Thanks Prof. Good-bye mom, i'll make sure to call every week." he said as he hugged her

"Make sure you do that, Ash and you make sure you change your you-know-whats everyday." Delia said with a slight chuckle

"MOM! You don't need to keep reminding me!" Ash said embarresed and as he turned towards the girls, he could hear them trying(but failing) to stiffen a laugh. Ash boarded Charizard and instructed he and Pidgeot to fly to Vermillion City.

After a few hours of flight, the three had made it to Vermillion City. Despite it being nightfall, Ash went to the docks to speak with someone about the next ferry leaving as he wanted to leave A.S.A.P. Dawn however, had something else on her mind.

"Hey Ash, would you mind if go see how Ambipom is doing?" Dawn asked

"Sure Dawn, go see her and meet him at the center in an hour for an update on our plans." Ash instructed her.

As Dawn went off to see her old friend, Serena became curious. "Ash, what was Dawn talking about?" she asked

"She's going to see her old pokemon, Ambipom. You see, I caught it during my Battle Frontier journey when she was a Aipom, but she had more of a passion for contests, so Dawn and I traded pokemon. That's how I also got my Buizel, which used to belong to Dawn, but he was much more interested in battling. But then, she took an interest in Pokemon Ping-Pong, so Dawn left her with this guy named O. I'm guessing Dawn hasn't seen her since they parted." Ash explained as the two went up to a counter.

"Hi there, what you can I help you with"? the man asked

"I was wondering if you had any ferries leaving tonight?" Ash said

"There is one ferry left leaving for Sinnoh, it leaves at midnight and arrives at 8am."

"That's fine, can we have 3 tickets please?" Ash asked as the man handed him the tickets as Ash gave him the money for them, which was a decent price.

The two then went to the pokemon center to meet up with Dawn. Ash noticed it was already 8pm, so they had plenty of time for them to heal their pokemon snd grab some dinner then they would more than likely sleep during the voyage. Ash and Serena were on their way to the center's cafeteria when Ash heard a very familar voice call out to him.

"Well, I haven't seen you in a while, Ash." said the voice

Ash and Serena turned to see Ash's Sinnoh rival, Paul. He was still pretty much the same since Ash last saw him.

"Paul! Hey, long time no see. How've you been?" Ash asked him

"I've been good, getting stronger in ways I never thought would be possible. After Sinnoh, I did some soul-searching and I realized that perhaps you were right. That if I formed a strong bond with each of my pokemon, I could become a much stronger trainer and a much better person." Paul responed

"And..." Ash asked

Paul sighed, "And you were right. In fact, I won the Silver Conference not too long ago." Paul said.

"Awesome! Did you challenge Lance yet?" Ash asked

"Yeah, I managed to beat his Elite 4 and got to him, but he beat me pretty badly. Just goes to show I still got a ways to go before I can beat someone as skilled as Lance or Cynthia. I guess I owe you a bit of thanks, Ash." Paul said as he stuck out his hand.

Ash shook his hand, ending their rivaly once and for all. "So Ash, who's your friend?" Paul asked, noticing Serena.

"This Paul, is my girlfriend Serena. And Serena, this is Paul, my former rival during my Sinnoh journey." Ash said, introducing the two.

"Girlfriend, so you finally grew up, huh?" Paul said smuggly but Ash knew he meant no offense to that. "Yeah, I did. Funny enough, Dawn said pretty much the same thing when I introduced her to Serena." Ash responded.

"So does that mean that you-" "Hey Ash!" the group turned to see Dawn running towards them. "Paul, what are you doing here?" Dawn asked when she got to them

"Just saying hi to Ash and getting some dinner before I leave for Sinnoh tonight." Paul said. "Hey, it wouldn't happen to be the one leaving at midnight would it?" Ash asked. "Yeah, why do you ask?" "Well, the three of us are also going to Sinnoh to train and we're also going on the midnight ferry. Hey would you like to travel with us while we train." "Sure, if it'll help me be one with my pokemon. Besides, not like I got anything else better to do." Paul said with a smirk on his face. "Great, now let's get something to eat!" Ash said as the four walked into the cafeteria. However right as they got there someone bumped right into Ash.

"Hey sorry about that" the voice, sounding like a young man said,

"It's OK, don't worry about it. Hey i'm A-" was all he got before he heard a gasp

"Ash?" the voice asked

Ash looked at who it was and was shocked. He hadn't seen this person since his Johto journey. It was an old rival that Ash didn't think he'd ever see again and with that he said just one word

"Ritchie?"

End of Chapter 2

Cliffhanger, ain't I just an asshole doing that to you huh? So that was Chapter 2, tell me what you guys thought of it. Now for Ch. 3, Paul and Ritchie will be told about the betrayal and the final two members of the Shield will be introduced. Word of warning, one of them is my OC for the story, so please don't kill me if you don't like him. The other? I'll leave that for the guesses and like before, 1st person to correctly guess it gets a shout-out from me. Must have a FF account otherwise your guess doesn't count. That's all I have to say, so until next time, nWore signing out.


	3. Shield's Beginnings Part 2

Pokemon: Rise of The Shield

After 1 week of hell from my sister's dogs, i'm finally able to start writing again. I'll also update SCR soon for those following that story as well. Anyway, let's get the shoutouts and right into Chapter 3.

Shoutouts: Shut Up I'm Evil(Correctly guessed Mentor)

Also, I don't own Pokemon(Shock right?)

Chapter 3: Shield's Beginnings Part 2

"Ritchie?"

Ash couldn't believe how this day was going. What with Pidegot, the betrayal, Dawn, Paul and now Ritchie, Ash was wondering just what was gonna happen next._ 'What's next? Cynthia appearing in the same center offering to train me? Arceus revealing that there are lengendary pokemon that want to join my team as well as my friends team? Ok Ash, pull yourself together, that will never happen.'_ He pushed those thoughts aside for the moment to greet his old friend and rival.

"It's so great to see you Ritchie. I haven't seen you since that whole Lugia fiasco over in Johto. I thought I'd be seeing you compete in the Johto League, but you weren't there." Ash said

"It has been way too long Ash. It's so great to see you and you as well Pikachu."

'Pika'

"As to why I didn't compete in the Johto League, it was because I didn't get all 8 badges in time. The last gym leader, Clair, was really difficult to beat. It took me several tries before I managed to beat her, but by then, I was already too late to enter. So I went back home, sat back and watched you perform and participated in the next Johto League." Ritchie explained

Dawn and Paul were listening and were wondering just who Ritchie was and how he knew Ash. Serena, however, knew exactly was what happening. '_So this must be the Ritchie that Ash lost to back in the Indigo League. I wonder if he's harboring some sort of bitterness with him. He doesn't appear so. I'll have to ask Ash more about this when we're alone.' _Serena thought.

Ash then realized that a certain someone was missing. "Hey Ritchie, where's Sparky?"

"Oh he's right here." Ritchie said as out from behind him came a Raichu

"Sparky evolved?!"

"Yeah, just last year actually. It was something we'd been talking about and Sparky felt ready to do so. The only downside is that it's harder to walk with him on my shoulder, so he usually just walks beside me now." Ritchie said

Finally, Dawn spoke. "Uh Ash_, _who is this?"

Ash realized that Ritchie and he weren't the only there and scratched the back of his head embarrassment. "Uh..sorry guys. This is Ritchie, an old friend of mine I met back in the Indigo League. Ritchie, this is Dawn, one of my closest friends." Ash said pointing at Dawn who smiled and waved at Ritchie. "Paul my rival during my Sinnoh journey." Paul nodded his head and grunted. "And finally Serena, one of my travelling companions during my Kalos Journey and she's also my girlfriend." Ash said

"It's a pleasure to meet you all." Ritchie said, then turning his attention back to Ash. "You know Ash, I always though that you and Misty would end up as a couple, Oh, by the way, how's Brock doing?" As soon as Ritchie said that, Ash instantly went into a depressed stage, one that Serena was very familiar with. Ritchie and Paul both became confused as to what happened.

"Ash, what's wrong?" Ritchie asked

"I don't want to talk about Misty or Brock right now. If you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go get some dinner." Ash said as he and Pikachu went into the center's cafeteria.

Paul asked "What's up with him?" he said to Dawn and Serena. "You'll have to get him to tell you cause it's not our story to tell, Paul." Dawn said. "But something did happen to him to get him into that state though?" Ritchie asked. Both Serena and Dawn nodded as the four, along with Sparky, made their way to the cafeteria.

After getting their food, they found Ash and Pikachu at a table by themselves with Ash eating his food at a very slow pace which, given how much Ash loves his food, is out of character and that confirmed to Ritchie and Paul that something was indeed wrong. The group went to the table Ash was at and Ritchie was first to speak.

"Ash, will you please tell me what's wrong?" he asked concerned for his friend.

"I told you Ritchie, I don't want to talk about it right now." Ash said emotionless.

"Oh come on Ash." Dawn said. "I hate to sound like a certain purple haired girl from Unova, but stop acting like a little kid. It's not good to keep it inside of you like that. Now tell Paul and Ritchie about what happened earlier today."

Ash remained silent, which naturally pissed off Paul

"Come on Ketchum, am I going to have to kick the crap out of you in order to get you to tell us what's wrong?" Paul said as he was about ready to kick Ash's ass.

"I'll tell you guys what happened when i'm ready. So go ahead and do what you want to me Paul, but nobody, not even Cynthia and her Garchomp will make me tell anyone about what happened until then." Ash said, not knowing who was right behind him now.

"Oh really, well maybe we should just test that, Ash." said a voice from behind Ash. Ash turned to see a face he had seen many of times during his Sinnoh journey and briefly stayed at her summer cottage for the Junior World Cup Tournament in Unova.

"Cynthia?" Ash, Dawn and Paul said. _'Ok, that's just a coincidence.' _Ash thought as he remembered his previous thoughts when he bumped into Ritchie.

"Hello Dawn, it's nice to see you once again." "It's nice to see you too Cynthia." Dawn said. Cynthia turned to Paul. "Paul, I heard you won the Silver Conference and even managed to defeat all of Lance's elites. Very impressive." "Thank you Cynthia." Paul said. She then turned her attention to Ash. "Ash, I was going to congratulate you for making to the finals of the Kalos league, but given what i've just heard and how you're acting, it seems the Kalos league is the furthest thing from your mind right now. So Ash, am I gonna have to bring out Garchomp or are you going to tell me and your friends what wrong with you?" Cynthia asked Ash.

"Go ahead, I have my Charizard with me, who's been training amomg the strongest Charizards in the world over in the Charisific Valley in Johto and believe me when I say that he'll give your Garchomp a run for it's money. Besides, give me one reason as to why I should tell you?" Ash asked, irritated that no one was giving him some privacy.

"Well, besides the fact that I consider you a friend and I'm concerned about you, I have a message from Lance." Cynthia replied

"Wait, what? What does Lance want with me?" Ash asked

"I'm not telling you until you tell me what's wrong with you." Cynthia responded.

Ash sighed not seeing any other way, he wasn't really ready to tell others about the betrayal, but he was really curious about what Lance wanted with him. Ash took a deep breath. "Alright Cynthia, but take a seat, cause this is a long story. Oh by the way, this is Ritchie, one of my old friends and Serena, my girlfriend." he said as he introduced Cynthia to the two. Before Cynthia could sit down, she heard someone call out to her. She turned to see someone coming towards her and the group. He was wearing a hat similar to the one Ash was wearing, a black t-shirt with a dark red vest on, blue pants and red and black trainers. Cynthia waved at him to come to the table. When he was close enough, the others noticed his red eyes and that he was almost as tall as Cynthia, but not quite.(A/N For those wondering. Ash and Serena are in their Kalos outfits. Cynthia's in her Unova outfit. Paul and Dawn are in their Sinnoh outfits and Ritchie's in the same outfit he wore in Kanto/Johto.)

"Hey Cyn, here's your pokeballs. Nurse Joy said they're all in perfect health."

"Thank you. Oh, everyone this is one of my oldest childhood friends: Mike Shamrock. Mike, this is Ash, Serena, Dawn, Paul and Ritchie." she said as she introduced them to him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Cyn has told me a lot about the three of you." Mike said while pointing towards Ash, Dawn and Paul. Paul then realized something. "Hey, are you the same Mike Shamrock that won the Sinnoh League earlier this year? The same person that Sinnoh Now dubbed 'The Sandman'?" "Yes that's me, though i'm a little embarrassed about the nickname. I managed to defeat the Sinnoh elite 4 and even gave Cyn here a run for her money." Dawn then asked "Why do you keep calling Cynthia Cyn?" "Just my nickname for her." Mike responded.

"Can I please start my story?" Ash asked, not meaning to be rude, but was tired of everyone getting off track.

"Sure Ash. Mike, sit down. I think we'll be here for a while." Cynthia said. As Mike sat down he whispered to Cynthia "So I take it you haven't told him yet?" "Not until he tells me what's wrong with him, then i'll tell him." Ash once again took a deep breath and started his story.

"I guess i'll start from when I got back to Kanto. You see, Serena and I had just arrived in Pallet Town the day before. We hadn't really decided on what to do now that our Kalos journey was over, so we were planning on spending a few days in Pallet while we made our decision. As Serena, my mom and I were on our way to Prof. Oak's pokemon lab for a lunch he invited us to, my gut was telling me that something bad was going to happen. I wasn't sure what it was and I just put it to the side as we arrived at the lab, but a little bit later, I got my answer." Ash said as tears started to form is his eyes.

'PikaPi' Pikachu said as he rubbed his cheek against Ash's in order to help comfort Ash.

"Thanks, buddy. Anyway, as we were eating lunch, all of a sudden, I saw my arch rival from Unova, Trip." "Is this the same Trip that won the Junior World Cup?" Cynthia asked. "Yes, it is. He said he came to say something to me, but before he did, he brought out all of my old travelling companions like Brock, Misty, Iris, Cilan and Dawn here. He also brought out a few of my old rivals also came out like Barry, Conway and one of my oldest childhood friends Gary Oak. I asked them what they were doing here and Gary instantly stepped forward and said that I should just quit on my dreams of being a pokemon master." Ash said as he heard gasps from Cynthia, Ritchie and Mike. Paul didn't gasp, but one look on his face and you could tell he was shocked. Ash continued. "One by one, they came up and called me weak, useless, pathetic, you name it, odds are they called me it. I asked them if any of them still believed me and only Dawn came forward saying she still did, which made me feel slightly better. After a while, I finally lost my cool, got right into each of their faces and told them what I thought about each and every one of them. Thankfully, they left before things got out of hand. That's when the weight of what had happened crashed into me and I broke down. However, thanks to Serena's comfort and Dawn's words, I realized that I can't just give up as that would prove them right. So now i'm going to be training harder than I ever had before in the hopes that one day, I will get the chance to prove them wrong. That's my story." Ash said

Serena and Dawn, despite already seeing it for themselves had tears in their eyes. Mike couldn't believe Ash's story. He had heard such great things about Ash from Cynthia and even Lance, and now there was a part of him that was oozing with rage as he wished one of those traitors were in the center so he could kick the living crap out of them for betraying someone as selfless as Ash Ketchum, but he managed to keep himself calm for Ash's sake.

Cynthia, Paul and Ritchie on the other hand were seeing red. "How in the hell can they say that about you?! And here I thought that Brock, Iris and Cilan were all good people, I swear, if I ever see them again, I'll...I'll...Ohhh I can't even describe it!" Cynthia yelled. "Well save some of Brock for me! I want a piece of fucking pervert and that red-headed bitch Misty!" Ritchie screamed "How in the fuck can Barry call you weak when he's one of the weakest trainers i've ever met. I've run into him way too many times and every time we battle, he never gives me any competition. He only uses his dad's fame as a frontier brain to get any notice from anybody." Paul screamed, but then turned to Ash. "Ash, I think I speak for everyone here when I say that you are not weak. You are one of the toughest trainers I have ever faced. Every time we battled, you always made me battle to the best of my abilities, Other than the gym leaders, elite 4 members and the champions, very few trainers can do that." Paul said

"Thanks Paul, that means a lot." Now then." Ash turned to Cynthia. "What does Lance want with me?" he asked

Cynthia and Mike looked at each other and stood up. "Well Ash, why don't you follow us and find out. Oh, all of you are welcome to come with us if you'd like." Cynthia said. The group got up from the table and left the center, making sure to grab their pokeballs from Nurse Joy.

The group walked for a few minutes when they arrived at the docks once again. "Hey Cynthia, how long will this take? The others and I were planning on catching the Sinnoh ferry at midnight." Ash asked. "Oh, in that case, let me see your tickets." Cynthia replied. The group gave her the tickets and she left for a few minutes. She soon came back with cash in her hand. "Here you go everyone, refunds." Cynthia said as she handed the money to Ash and his friends. "Why did you do that?" Ritchie asked. Mike then stepped forward and said "Because we are going on a special private yacht." Cynthia smacked Mike upside the head "Arceus Mike, you weren't supposed to tell them that." "Oops, sorry Cyn." "No matter, let's go. I don't want to be late." Cynthia said as the group continued walking.

A little while later, they arrived at a private section of the docks and awaiting them was a guy with hair so crazy, it makes Ash's hair seem tamed.(A/N Seriously am I the only one who thinks that?) It belonged to that of the Kanto/Johto region champion, Lance. He walked to the group. "Ash, it's been a long time huh?" Ash responded "Yeah it has, but how did you know I was in Vermillion City, never mind Kanto?" Lance simply replied "Scott." Ash shook his head. '_How the hell does he do that?'_ he thought. Ritchie then said "Ash, you know Lance as well?" "Yes, Ash here has helped me with many of things, like 'The Gyrados Incident' an the Lake of Rage in Johto as well as helping me take down Teams Aqua and Magma in Hoenn." Lance replied as Ritchie's, Paul's, Dawn's and even Serena's eyes bulged. "THAT WAS YOU?!" they all asked Ash, who rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Um yeah, anyway, what did you want from me Lance?" he asked. "Ah, yes. Everyone, please come aboard my yacht the 'Dragon Chaser' so we can have a chat." said Lance. "And while we're at it, why don't you tell Lance about what happened?" Cynthia said as she and Mike came aboard followed by the others. "Huh?" asked Lance. Ash then informed Lance about the betrayal and Lance couldn't believe that Ash's friends would turn on him like that. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Believe me Ash, you are the farthest thing from weak." Thanks Lance. By the way, how big is this yacht?" he said as the two boarded the yacht. "About 100ft. The biggest money can buy." Lance said as they departed.

Meanwhile in the Hall of Orgins, Arceus had being watching what had been happening to his chosen one the entire day and he was naturally pissed, but he was glad that there were people that didn't agree with those traitors. After a few hours of thought, he decided that he wanted one of his children to join Ash's team, but the question is who? He had been explaining the situation to his children and all of them were shocked. Arceus told them about his idea.

_'So, with that said, is their anyone that wants to join him?'_ Arceus asked

There were several of them who wanted to join Ash, and they all instantly stepped foward: Mewtwo, Lugia, Suicune, Celebi, Latias, Deoxys, Manaphy, Shaymin and Zekrom. Latias was the same from Alto Mare and had been wanting to see Ash again for quite some time, and she had a huge crush on him. Arceus spoke '_Mewtwo, I must say i'm surprised. I thought you didn't trust humans?'_

_'I don't trust humans, but Ash is the only exception. He showed me that not all humans are cruel and evil like the people who created me. I want to join him becuase he is truly one of a kind. Unlike Latias, who only want to join him cause of their schoolgirl crushes on Ash over here.' _Mewtwo said

Latias instantly went red. _'I..I..I don't have a crush on him!' _she said, but nobody believed her._ 'Besides, it's a moot point anyway. I would rather be his pokemon than not be with him at all.' _Laitas said.

'_I want to go. I want to see Papa after Mama said those awful things to him' _said Manaphy

'_I believe Ash to be the new Hero of Ideals. Therefore, the pokemon of Ideals should be the one to join him.' _Zekrom said,

Everyone started arguing about who should go, except Lugia, Deoxys and Shaymin. Arceus seeing this and wanting to know why they weren't arguing as well asked them. _'Lugia, Deoxys, Shaymin, why aren't you arguing as well?' _he asked

Shaymin stepped forward '_Well, lord Arceus. I would like to join Dawn's team.' _The others stopped their arguing and looked over stunned at Shaymin's words. '_Let me guess, you two also want to go with one of those that stood behind Ash?' _Arceus asked Lugia and Deoxys, who both nodded.

Arceus was thinking long and hard. '_I believe that Mewtwo and Zekrom make the best points.' _The other legendaries instantly looked sad. '_However, if the rest of you are willing to compromise, then I have an idea which will allow you to get close to the chosen one.' 'Which is what, my lord?' _Mewtwo simply grinned

Back with the others, the yacht had already cast off and the group was enjoying some food and drinks provided by Lance. Most of them were in the main room, however one of them was outside enjoying the sea air. That person was Mike. He looked down at a picture he was holding in his hand and it showed a younger him and a younger Cynthia, but their was one more person in that picture. It was a young girl that had lemon blonde hair, grey eyes that were almost similar to those of Cynthia's and she was about the same age as Mike. She had a huge smile on her face, which brought a smile onto Mike's. Unlike Cynthia, who was typically the cool and calm type, the lemon blonde was hyper and energetic. In the picture, each of the three were holding a different pokemon. Cynthia was holding a Gible, Mike was holding a Tyrouge and the lemon blonde was holding a Riolu. Also, younger Mike had a huge blush on his face as he was in close contact with her. Mike sighed as he remembered all the good times he had with her during their childhood. Then a voice called out to him.

"Thinking about her?" Mike knew who it was right away. "Yeah, I am." he turned to see Cynthia approaching him. "You know, it has been a few years since you last visited her, why don't you go see her after we're done here?" "You know why Cyn." he said with a sudden frown now on his face. "Oh, come on Red!" Cynthia said(A/N Yeah, i'm making Mike's childhood nickname Red. Besides, i'm sure someone will point out that he already dresses like him, so might as well call him that.) "You're not scared to take on some of the strongest trainers in the world or even me in battle, but you are scared to go see her and tell her how you feel about her? Trust me Red, Korrina had a crush on you back then, and i'm sure she still does now." Cynthia said. "How do you know that?" he asked. "It's a girl thing, just trust me. The point is, if you don't tell her and she finds someone else, you will regret it for the rest of your life." Cynthia responded. Mike looked up at the stars for a moment as he realized that she was right. "Ok, Cyn. After we're done with this meeting, i'll go see Korr and tell her my feelings for her. I just hope you're right about her feeling the same way." Mike said. Cynthia put her arm around Mike and said "Don't worry about it Red. She will, i'm sure of it. Now come on, Lance wants everyone downstairs before he tells Ash about you-know-what." she said as the two made their way back downstairs.

With everyone now in the same room, Ash spoke. "Lance, are you ever going to get to why we're here?" he asked.

"Well, now that everyone is here, yes I will. You see Ash, thanks to you, teams Aqua, Magma, Galactic, Plasma and Flare are now history and all of their bosses are behind bars like they should be. Unfortunately, it's seems every time one evil organization goes down, another takes it place." Lance said

Ash thought for a moment before he realized what Lance was referring to and instantly became irritated. "Don't tell me that Team Rocket has bases set across ALL the regions?" "Well, they do in Kanto and Johto, but not in the other regions, however, we received intel that they will soon enough. Their leader, Giovanni has been a pain in the ass to capture. It seems anytime we raid a base where he's supposed to be, it turns out he was never their at all. Everyday, Team Rocket gets stronger and the PLA has demanded that the G-Men do something to stop them. The problem is that we had a traitor is out midst and he gave information about the G-Men to Giovanni so now, none of us can get to him. We can't even try disguises, it's that bad." Lance said

"Damn, you guys seem to be in dire straights, no offense." Ash said "None taken." "So what's the good news?" Paul asked. "The good news is that we've managed to slow down their progress of expansion into the other regions, but knowing Giovanni, he won't let something like that stop him. I've already told the PLA about this and they asked me if I had any sort of plan. I did, and that's where you come in Ash. Since you have helped us take down criminal organizations like this in the past, I would personally like to invite you to join our newest group: The Shield." Lance said as Ash as well as his friends stood their shocked.

Cynthia then spoke up. "You certainly have the credentials, Ash. All you need is little more serious training to prepare you for the tough challenges that will lie ahead. Oh, and don't worry about the training, you'll have all 6 champions to help you train, but mainly myself." Cynthia said.

Ash couldn't believe all that he was hearing, but he also couldn't believe that his previous thoughts from when he bumped into Ritchie were true. '_OK, so most of that came true, but I highly doubt that last one will.' _Ash thought as he fixed his thoughts to the offer at hand. These champions were offering to help make him stronger and he would play a part in taking down Team Rocket one day. Sure it would be extremly tough, but that would be a very small price to pay, especially when the day came that he would encounter those traitors again.

After a minute of silence, Ash spoke. "Lance, I accept your offer." he said as the two shook hands, sealing the deal. "Now I have to ask, who else will be apart of The Shield?" Ash asked.

"Mike will be, and I think i'd like your friends here to be apart of it as well since I think it's better to have you work along side people whom you can trust, Ash. What do you guys say?" Lance asked. Ritchie and Paul instantly accepted. Dawn and Serena were hesitant. Dawn felt it would take a strong trainer to do what they wanted and she also didn't want to lose her battling style. Serena felt that it would take years before she would be ready for something like this. As if she had read both their minds, Cynthia spoke. "Relax you two. Dawn, you'll more than likely to be spend most of your training under Wallace. Remember, not only is he a contest master, but he's also Hoenn Champion. He'll help you reach your fullest potential as not only a Co-Ordinator, but as a battler. Serena, don't worry about your lack of battling experience. Everyone has that when they start as a trainer, and I already have a training program that would be just right for you, once you capture some more pokemon of course. So what do you girls say?" The two girls looked at each other, turned to Cynthia and said "We accept!".

All of a sudden, a binding light took over the room and a voice could be heard. "Chosen One, I ask for a word with you. Please take your friends to the top of the vessel." the voice said and the light disappeared as quickly as it appeared. The group did as the voice said and awaiting them at the top of the yacht was the god of pokemon himself, Arceus.

_'Hello, chosen one. It has been a long time since our last encounter.'_ Arceus said, speaking in telepathy.

Everyone else(minus Dawn) stood there shocked. "Ash, you've met Arceus before?" Cynthia asked.

"Yeah, I have. Long story, i'll tell you guys later. Back to the subject at hand Arceus, what are you doing here?" Ash asked.

_'Well, i saw what you're former friends did to you, there acts of selfishness is unforgivable after all you done for them, and as such, I would like to thank all of you for standing by my chosen one.' _he said, saying that last part to the others. '_But that's not the only reason why i'm here.'_

"Why else are you here?" Ash asked

_'You see Ash, many of my children have been wanting to join you on your journey for quite some time now, and after what has been done, I think that now is the best time for them to join you and the others, especially since I know that you will want revenge on those traitors one day.'_

Dawn stepped forward. "Wait, Arceus are you saying that not only is Ash getting a legendary pokemon, but the rest of us are as well?" she asked as everyone interest suddenly peaked.

_'Yes Dawn, that's exactly what I am saying. All of you will have one of my children join your teams. I only ask that you do not use my children for evil purposes and before you ask, yes I do trust you, but I am simply giving you a word of warning. Believe me, you don't want to feel my wrath. Just ask Ash and Dawn.' _Arceus said as everyone looked towards Ash and Dawn who both chuckled nervously.

_'Now Dawn, I'll start with yours. You know this pokemon very well as you helped her during your journey with my chosen one. I present to you...Shaymin.' _Arceus said as all of a sudden, a hole appeared beside Arceus and out came Shaymin who hugged Dawn, as she became all giddy.

"Wow! Shaymin, you really want to join me?" she asked as if she didn't believe what was happening. '_Yes I do Dawn. I have for a really long time. Also, Ash. The rest of the lengendaries and I have your back. If you ever need any help, you got it.' _ she said. Dawn grabbed a pokeball and Shaymin tapped her head on it as she was sucked it and was instantly captured.

Arceus then called for Paul, who stepped forward. _'Paul, beneath your tough exterior, I see someone who is truly loyal to his friends and would never even think about turning his back on anyone of them. As such, I present to you, a pokemon that is equally as loyal to his friends as you are...Suicune.' _he said as a white hole opened up and Suicune came through.

'_Chosen one, this is also the same Suicune that you have met many time through out your journey.' _Arceus said as Ash said hi to him. Paul went up to him. "Arceus, thank you for trusting me with one of your children. Suicune, I promise to be the best trainer I can possibly be for you and I know with you now by my side, I become not only a better trainer, but a better person." he said. He took out a pokeball and Suicune instantly went in.

Arceus then called for Mike. '_Michael, although you have known my chosen for the least amount of time, one of my children has taken an interest in you after you helped her in the Hoenn region.' _Mike eyes widen as he had a pretty good idea as to who Arceus was reffering to. '_I present to you...Deoxys.' _he said as the hole appeared and out came the alien pokemon.

"Thank you Arceus." Mike said. '_Also, I have given her a ability that no other Deoxys has.' _ "What's that?" Mike asked, but got his question answered as Deoxys suddenly glowed and just like that, she had changed into a human. She had long blue hair with some red streaks in there, purple eyes and her outfit consisted of a black and purple attire with a matching skirt. (A/N Check out Deoxys Human Form by pikahsoo on Deviantart to see what it's supposed to look like.)

"Holy shit, she can turn into a human?!" Mike asked, but instead of Arceus responding, it was Deoxys. "And I can talk like one too." she said as Mike's jaw hit the floor. _'You're welcome' _Arceus said while chuckling at Mike's response

_'Champions Lance and Cynthia. You both have made a huge impact in my chosen's life. Lance, without your help during the Kyorge and Groudon incident in Hoenn, the world may not be hear today. As such, I present to you, the beast of the seas...Lugia.'_ Lugia came from underneath the water and flew right besides the yacht.(A/N Now before people start bitching, yes I know Lugia is not a dragon type, but Lance has been known, both in the games and the anime, to have pokemon that look like dragons, but aren't actual dragon-types. Ex: Charizard, Aerodactyl, his Red Gyrados from the anime, so don't lose your cool.)

Lance bowed his head. "Thank you Arceus. I promise you, I'll train Lugia to the best of my abilities." '_I know you will Lance. Now Cynthia, I owe you a debt of gratitude as well. After all, you helped save the Sinnoh region from Team Galactic. As such, I present to you a pokemon that Ash is very familiar with...Latias.' _ Arceus said as she came from the hole, but instead of going to Cynthia, she went to Ash.

'_Ash, I missed you so much.' _Latias said while hugging and nuzzling him. "You know, I think Latias would rather be Ash's pokemon." Cynthia said. '_No Cynthia, I just really missed Ash. You see, he helped me take on some bad people from Team Rocket in Alto Mare. I'd like to be apart of your team, that is, if you'll take me.' _Latias said. Cynthia nodded and took out a pokeball, Latias was sucked in and the pokeball did it's job.

'_Ritchie, I see within you a pure soul, equally as pure as Ash's. So I present to you a pokemon with a kind, gentle soul that is similar to you...Celebi.' _Arceus said as Celebi came through the hole and went to Ritchie. "Thank you Arceus." he said as he grabbed a pokeball and Celebi went in.

'_Serena, I can see within your heart that you love my chosen and I can tell that love will never die. As such, I present to you, a pokemon that loves Ash on an almost equal level. Ash, please try not to cry.' _Arceus said as Ash and Serena's interest peaked once again. '_I present to you... Manaphy.' _Arceus said as Manaphy came out and hugged Ash, who tried his best to fight back the tears forming in his eyes. It didn't help matters when Manaphy spoke.

'_Love you Papa.' _she said as tears starting coming out of Ash. '_I knew that would happen.' _Arceus commented. Meanwhile, Serena was confused was to why this cute little pokemon was calling Ash 'Papa'. "Ash, why did Manaphy call you Papa?" she asked

Ash informed her and the others about his adventure with Manaphy and the Sea Temple and they were all shocked to hear that Ash almost died there. Serena hugged him and cried on his shoulder as Ash did his best to comfort her. Then they heard Manaphy speak again. '_Papa, I saw what May did to you. She isn't my Mama anyone.'_ she then leaped into Serena's arms, who had separated from Ash. "Do you want me to be your mama Manaphy?" she asked. Manaphy nodded her head. _'Love you Mama.' _"Love you too Manaphy." Serena said with a smile on her face.

_'And last, but certainly, not least. Ash, there isn't just one of my children that wants to join you, there are two. Both of them make great points as to why they should join you, so in order to keep them from fighting, I have decided that they will both join you.' _Arceus said as Ash's eyes bulged and his jaw hit the floor. '_First is a pokemon you should be very familiar with, after all, you have helped on quite a few occasions. I present to you...Mewtwo.' _Mewtwo came from the hole and went over to Ash.

'_Hello Ash. It has been a while since I last saw you.' _Mewtwo said. Ash was confused at first as to which Mewtwo this was since he had seen two of them, but when he heard that male voice, he knew it was the Mewtwo he helped out in Johto. He made a mental note to tell him about the female Mewtwo he met during his Unova journey later. "Hey Mewtwo, it has been a long time. So, I guess you want to join me, huh?" '_Yes, I and another.' _"Who's the other?" Ash asked. Mewtwo simply pointed to a black cloud in the sky coming towards them. Ash and Pikachu instantly knew who it was. "Zekrom!" '_Hello Ash, it has been quite a while since I last saw you and your faithful Pikachu. I wish to join you because I believe that you are the new Hero of Ideals. I also want to be by your side when you get payback on those who have caused harm to you.'_ Zekrom said. "Thank you Mewtwo and Zekrom. I promise to be the best trainer I can possibly be to both of you." Ash said as he took out two pokeball and the pokemon went in.

'_My chosen, this is where I must depart, but I and the rest of my children wish you the best of luck on your new journey. I know one day we will meet again. Goodbye to you all.' _Arceus said as he disappeared in a bright light.

"Wow, I can't believe we all have legendary pokemon with us now." Serena said. "Well, you better believe it Serena." Lance said. "Today marks the beginning of a era; the era of The Shield!" he said. Ash was surprisingly quite as he seemed deep in thought. Then he spoke.

"Hey Lance, is it too late to return to Kanto?"

"Why do you want to go back to Kanto?" Lance asked

"I want to see Sabrina."

"Why?"

"...I think I have psychic powers." Ash said scratching his head. Everyone then fell anime style as the yacht continued sailing into the unknown, but one thing was certain in the mind of Ash Ketchum: One day, he would see each of those traitors again and he would prove them wrong!

End of Chapter 3

Finally got this out. I felt like I rushed the ending of it, but that's up for you guys to decide. Tell me what you guys think. Also, if you guys want to ask me a question about the story, leave it in a review or PM me. I'll start doing Q&A's in Ch.4, so until then, this is nWore signing out.


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